3 Shares Set to Beat the FTSE 100 Today

Weir, Bodycote, and The Restaurant Group all please the markets.

LONDON -- The FTSE 100(FTSEINDICES:^FTSE) has settled in today, up just three points to 6,273 as of 9:10 a.m. EST. While Italian fears still weigh heavily, the country is at least managing to sell its debt. And it looks like there's still support for the U.S. Federal Reserve's stimulus policies.

Though the FTSE is up a little, there are plenty of companies beating it. Here are three benefiting from good results today.

Weir(LSE:WEIR)Weir Group shares have gained 5.9% to 2,291 pence after the engineering-services firm reported record pre-tax profit of 443 million pounds -- up 12% on 2011. That came from an 11% rise in revenue to 2.5 billion pounds, with earnings per share up 12% to 150.1 pence, allowing the firm to up its full-year dividend by 15% to 38 pence per share for a yield of 1.7%.

Speaking of this year, chief executive Keith Cochrane said: "We expect to deliver low single digit revenue growth and broadly stable margins in 2013 with lower first half profits offset by growth in the second half. Alongside substantially higher cash generation, the Group plans the eighth consecutive year of double digit dividend growth."

Bodycote(LSE:BOY) Shares in Bodycote spiked 7.9% to 545.5 pence after the firm announced an 18.5% rise in pre-tax profit to 89.8 million pounds for the year to December 2012. Revenue was up 3% to 587.8 million pounds, with basic EPS up 19.3% to 35.8 pence. The full-year dividend was lifted by 12.8% to 12.3 pence.

Looking forward, chief executive Stephen Harris told us: "2013 has started slowly and we are mindful of the near term macroeconomic environment. Nevertheless, at this early stage in the year the Board expects modest progress in 2013."

Restaurant Group(LSE:RTN)Restaurant Group, best known for its Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito, and Garfunkel's brands, released 2012 results today, and the share price responded with a 6.6% rise to 415 pence.

Revenue was up 9% to 533 million pounds, with like-for-like sales up 4.5%. A 7% rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to 64.6 million pounds enabled a 12% boost to the firm's full-year dividend, taking it to 11.8 pence per share for a yield of 2.8%. This year is looking good, with like-for-like sales apparently already 6.5% ahead of the same stage in 2012.

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